CONSTITUTION

The name of this organization shall be the Nebraska Court Reporters Association.


Section 1. The purpose of the Association shall be:

(a) To establish and maintain proper standards of proficiency in the profession of shorthand reporting in Nebraska and to improve court reporting in this state by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and educating all reporters to handle the reporting needs of the state more adequately and expeditiously.

(b) To disseminate all facts and information brought to light through Association deliberations in a suitable manner.

(c) To foster professional and social contacts among its members.

(d) To promote harmony and a spirit of mutual assistance between the profession of shorthand reporting, the courts, and members of the bar in this state.

(e) To advance the interests of the shorthand reporting profession and secure the benefits resulting from organized effort.

(f) To provide a source of continuing education in accordance with NCRA standards.

(g) To promote compliance with all applicable laws, including but not limited to antitrust laws.

Section 2. This organization shall be self-governing, nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and nonunion.


The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer and shall be elected at each annual meeting in the manner and form prescribed by the Bylaws.


The executive committee of this Association shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, Immediate Past President, and two members of the Association, one freelance and one official, to be elected by the membership at large. These two members are to be called Member Representatives. The President shall act as chairman of said executive committee.


This Association shall be governed by the provisions of a code of Bylaws adopted simultaneously with this Constitution.


This Constitution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption and may be amended, altered, or repealed at any annual meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of the members present and in good standing at such meeting; provided, however, that written notice of any proposed amendment shall be given to the Secretary at least sixty (60) days prior to such meeting and notice thereof duly given by the Secretary to the membership not less than thirty (30) days prior to such annual meeting.



Section 1. Membership in this Association shall be of six (6) classes (Official, Freelance, Student, Instructor, Retired and Honorary), and shall be defined as follows:

(a) Official membership in this Association shall be limited to any person who is a writer of shorthand, manual or machine, and who is or has been an officially appointed shorthand reporter in a court in this state;

(b) Freelance membership in this Association shall be limited to any person who is a writer of shorthand, manual or machine, and who is or has been engaged in the active practice of law reporting or general reporting in this State;

(c) Student membership in this Association shall be limited to any person who is enrolled in a course of study in shorthand reporting. Such student member shall not vote or hold office in this Association.

(d) Instructor membership. In this Association shall be limited to any person who is an instructor in an NCRA-approved court reporter education program;

(e) Retired membership in this Association shall be limited to any member who has been in good standing for a period of twenty (20) years and is no longer in the active practice of shorthand reporting. Such retired member shall not vote or hold office, and shall be exempt from the payment of dues;

(f) Honorary membership in this Association shall be a person who has rendered some special service to this organization or to the reporting profession. Such honorary member may be elected by majority vote at the annual meeting of this organization and shall not vote, nor hold office, and shall be exempt from the payment of dues.

Section 2. Application for membership by qualified applicants, as set out in Section l(a) - l(f) above, shall be made to the Treasurer annually, and upon payment of dues, the applicant shall be declared a member.

Section 3. Membership dues shall be $100.00 per year for official and freelance members, $40.00 per year for instructor members, and $20.00 per year for student members, payable January 1st of each year. There shall be no dues assessed against retired or honorary members.

Section 4. A member in good standing is one whose dues are paid as provided in Section 3 above. Only official members and freelance members in good standing may hold office or vote in this Association.

Section 5. Any member whose dues are ninety (90) days past due shall be suspended and all privileges of membership shall be terminated. Any member suspended for nonpayment of dues may be reinstated at any time upon payment of the full current year's dues.


Section 1. All officers, and the two member representatives, shall be elected at the annual meeting, commencing with the fall 2009 meeting, for a term of one (1) year by a majority of those present and entitled to vote at the annual meeting, and shall take office immediately upon election.

Section 2. Duties of officers shall be as follows:

(a) The President shall preside at all meetings of this Association and shall perform such other duties as regularly pertain to such office. The President shall appoint and be an advisory member of all committees, with the exception of the nominating committee. All authority not otherwise designated herein shall be exercised by the President. The President is encouraged to attend the annual meeting of the National Court Reporters Association.

(b) In the absence of the President, the President-Elect shall have all the powers of the President and shall perform the duties of said office. The President-Elect is encouraged to attend the annual meeting of the National Court Reporters Association or leadership training as provided by NCRA, and shall be reimbursed by the Nebraska Court Reporters Association for his reasonable expenses in connection therewith for transportation, lodging, meals, and registration fee.

(c) In the absence of the President-Elect, the Vice President shall have all the powers of the President-Elect and shall perform the duties of said office. The Vice President may attend the annual meeting of the National Court Reporters Association or leadership training as provided by NCRA, in conjunction with the President-Elect and be reimbursed by the Nebraska Court Reporters Association for his reasonable expenses in connection therewith for transportation, lodging, meals, and registration fee.

(d) The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the executive committee and of the Association.

(e) The Treasurer shall collect all monies due to the Association and deposit or invest such funds in a proper depository in the name and to the credit of the Nebraska Court Reporters Association. He shall receive and audit all bills due by the Association and, if found correct, shall make payment therefor. He shall keep a record of all duly authenticated bills received and paid by him, showing the amount of the same, to whom payable, and for what the account was due, and shall submit a financial statement of all such accounts whenever called upon by the President or Association for the same. At such annual meeting in each year he shall submit to the Association a written report of the doings of his office, the amounts received and disbursed by him, and the balance in his hands to the credit of the Association. The executive committee may acknowledge the contribution of the Treasurer by payment of a stipend. These expenses will be authorized and approved by the remaining members of the executive committee.

Section 3. Any vacancy occurring in any office between annual meetings shall be filled for the remainder of said year by appointment of the executive committee.


At each annual meeting one member of this Association shall be elected as Editor, and he shall be responsible for the publishing and distribution of not less than two (2) issues of "The Scribe," which is hereby designated the official publication of this Association. He shall contract advertisements for all expenses incidental to the publishing and distribution of said publication. Advertising fees are to be reasonable.


Section 1. Executive Committee. It shall be the duty of the executive committee to determine the policies of the Association. The executive committee shall have general supervision over the affairs of the Association and conduct Association business between meetings. The executive committee shall be vested with power to interpret these Bylaws.

Section 2. Nominating Committee. A nominating committee for the nomination of President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, and two Member Representatives shall be comprised of not less than two (2) members and the Immediate Past President. The Immediate Past President shall be chairman of the nominating committee and shall vote during said committee meeting only in the event of a tie.

(a) Members of the nominating committee shall not hold elective office in the Association at the time of appointment to the nominating committee.

(b) The Immediate Past President shall appoint the nominating committee not less than six (6) months prior to the annual meeting. Notice of such appointments and nomination forms shall be presented to the membership of the Association as soon thereafter as practicable.

(c) The nominating committee shall meet at least sixty (60) days prior to the annual meeting and convention of the Association and shall select one or more of the nominees for offices to be filled and report the committee's recommendations for nomination to the membership prior to the meeting.

(d) The President shall call for further nominations at the annual business meeting. Any member shall have the privilege of nominating a candidate for any of the offices to be filled, providing such nomination is seconded.

(e) The election shall be by ballot or show of hands and the results thereof announced before adjournment of the meeting.

(f) If there shall be two (2) candidates for an office, the person receiving the larger number of votes shall be elected for such office. In the event there are three (3) or more candidates for an office, and if a majority vote of the members present and voting is not received by any candidate for such office, there shall be a runoff election between the two (2) candidates receiving the most votes.

Section 3. Special Committees. The President shall have the power to appoint such other committees as may be found necessary to properly conduct the business of the Association.


Section 1. The meeting of this Association shall be (a) an annual meeting in the fall and (b) a spring meeting; the time and place of said meetings to be determined by the executive committee.

Section 2. Special meetings may be called at the direction of the President or by a majority of the executive committee. The call for special meetings must state the principal business to be transacted.

Section 3. Meetings of the executive committee shall be called by the President or may be called by a majority of the executive committee. The executive committee shall meet within sixty (60) days prior to the annual meeting for the purpose of planning the regular annual meeting.

Section 4. Meetings of any other committees herein provided for shall be subject to the call of the respective chairmen.

Section 5. A majority of the members present and in good standing at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association, except as otherwise herein provided.


In all cases not specifically provided for herein, Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the proceedings of this Association.

ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS

These Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon their adoption and may be amended or repealed at any annual meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of the members present and in good standing at such meeting; provided, however, that written notice of any proposed amendment shall be given to the Secretary at least thirty (30) days prior to such meeting and notice thereof duly given by the Secretary to the membership not less than fifteen (15) days prior to such annual meeting.


Section 1. Wording. Wherever the word "he" or "him" appears in any Article of this Constitution and Bylaws, it shall be construed as meaning "he" or "she" and "him" and "her."

Section 2. This Constitution and these Bylaws are adopted, as amended, this 11th day of October, 2019, and hereby repeal all other Constitution and Bylaws which may have been adopted heretofore by the Nebraska Court Reporters Association.